A Twist in my Story
by Leslie Smith
Summary: Agent Emma Mason was born to be an Avenger, literally. Under the watchful eye of Nick Fury, she's never really done much other than train. But when she works with Bruce Banner to find the Tesseract, his scientific curiosity causes him to want to crack her icy exterior, and maybe befriend the woman who lies underneath. All while battling aliens in New York (and Tony Stark's ego.)
1. Gaurd duty

**Hello, Leslie Smith here with my second-ever fanfiction. This is quite a bit different to my other story, Accidentally in Love, because it isn't supposed to be all fluff and games and cute little crushes. This particular story is going to get a bit rough, so hang on tight, dear readers. This is basically going to be a slightly AU version of the Avengers, with an added character called Emmaline Mason. This is just an intro chapter, so a lot of things won't be making too much sense, but if you keep reading, I promise it will. Anyway, I've already written about 15k of this story, but I'm still in the process of editing and spicing things up a bit, so you should be able to expect updates within a few days. Also, to my AIL readers: like I said, I'm not abandoning the story. This is just a project for me to do while I have writers block.**

**Anyway, here's chapter one! Enjoy!**

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Another absolutely boring day. Well, not too boring, I suppose. Clint Barton was assigned to security detail with me, so at least I had a friend. But all the same, all we were doing was watching a bunch of scientists work on the Tesseract. I didn't particularly want to be on guard duty, and neither did Clint, but it was our job and we couldn't exactly complain.

Clint and I were perched in his 'nest', as I and another friend of mine Erik Selvig liked to call it, just watching. We both noticed Director Nick Fury walk into the lab at the same time and raised our eyebrows at each other.

"Do you think that he actually listened when I sent the other agents to tell him?" I asked curiously, and he shrugged, keeping his eyes on the Tesseract. After a while of looking at the cube from afar a few months back when Clint and I first started this job, my inner scientist kicked in and I went down to examine it. Needless to say, I didn't like what I felt. I have a… shall we say, gift, for feeling and hearing things, but not physically; with my mind.

And the cube was alive, I could tell. And its presence was not exactly of a kind nature. Once I had gotten a feel for it, I began to notice it more and more often, and it scared me. Not that I would ever tell anybody else that, not even Clint or Natasha, but I was well and truly frightened.

I had told Clint that it didn't feel right, and he immediately told me that I needed to contact Fury. I didn't think that it was the smartest things to do, but I did talk to Agent Maria Hill about it, and I knew she would contact Fury whether I told her to or not. People at SHIELD had come to trust my intuition.

I decided to take the long way down, the human way. Just because everybody else here knew that I was a little less (or maybe more, it just depended on how you looked at it) than human doesn't mean that they had to see it. Knowing about what I could do and seeing me do it are two different things. Considering we were very, very high up, it took me a few moments for me to walk right next to Fury.

I kept my mouth shut as he discussed the Tesseract with Erik. In fact, I mostly zoned out until I noticed a NASA scientist walk up to Erik, Fury and I.

"Doctor, it's spiking again," the man said nervously to Selvig. I didn't blame him for being frightened. Hell, I was frightened of the damned thing, and I was a freaking super hero. I heard Clint's steady voice from the ear piece I was wearing, and so could Fury.

"No one's come or gone," he informed us, "Its oven is clean. No contacts, no I.M.'s."

"If there was any tampering, it wasn't from this end." I concluded, not betraying how worried I was about the Tesseract. Fury turned to me and frowned.

"At this end?" He questioned.

I had had a long time to think about exactly what I thought the Tesseract – or whoever was controlling it – was doing, and I didn't think Fury would like my answer any more than I did. "Yeah. The cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right?"

Fury nodded his assent, probably wondering where I was going with this. "Doors open from both sides," I explained, just as the entire room, most likely the entire facility, began to shake and thunder. The flaring noise rang out in my mind painfully, so I could only imagine how it felt to the less-than-sensitive ears of all of the others. The eerie blue glow of the Tesseract flashed brighter and shone all across the room, before building up into a sort of beam and hitting the platform next to it.

_There it is_, I thought dazedly at no one in particular. _Damn, I hate it when I'm right_. A vortex opened, and out burst a portal, just like I said it would. Space appeared on the other side of the portal, and shining and twinkling stars shone before me as I looked in awe. My shock from amazement only lasted so long before my instincts kicked in. And not a moment too soon.

A cloud of smoke rose impossibly out of the portal, and I threw both of my hands out and attempted to create a corporeal shield around Selvig, Fury and I, but the smoke wasn't allowing it. Not only was it impairing the vision of everybody in the room (including me) but it was doing something to not allow me to use my powers. I gasped in shock as I tried again and again with no results. My powers had never failed me like this, not once. It was almost like that smoke was targeted directly towards me.

And because I am too human for my own good, I tapped into my life energy to create the shield. It wasn't strong because I hadn't practiced this way, but I could still create one. Sure, it would probably kill me, but it was my job to protect people. Selvig was my friend, and I had known Nick Fury my entire life. I had to protect them. Besides, I had made my peace ages ago with death. I've been ready to die for a long, long time now.

I could feel my very life force slip away from me as the shield I created broke, and I collapsed on the ground at Fury's feet. The last few things I remember seeing were the smoke clearing a little and the face of a grinning man that I would never, ever forget. And then, because it was so damn clichéd, I passed out.

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I woke up on a helicarrier with one hell of a headache with Nick Fury, Agent Phil Coulson, a personal friend of mine, and Agent Maria Hill, who I somewhat tolerated for the sake of my job. Everybody's eyes turned to me, but then turned away. I frowned, catching the mood, and digging through Fury's recent memories.

_Oh, no_, I thought, shocked. Clint and Selvig, captive. Rage filled through me like nothing I've ever felt before. They were two of the smartest men I knew, albeit about different subjects, but all the same. And Clint was my best friend, my brother. My heart seemed to ache at the same time that I felt so incredibly angry, and I had no idea how to handle these emotions. I was raised better than to feel so deeply like this, only to feel it when others felt like this. Not this time, apparently. These feelings were all my own. And all of those scientists at the base, murdered. I couldn't do a thing to stop them. Fury's memories had given me at least some sort of an explanation to my powers not functioning, at least.

_"What did you do to her?" Fury ground out to the man called Loki, who in turned, flashed a smile._

_"Ah, the Mind Witch. You realize," he said, touching my unconscious face with a sort of staff, "that we have much in common, this Emmaline Mason and I. It is such a shame that my poison gas seemed to be too much for her. I had high hopes, you see. She would have made an excellent plaything."_

_"If you kill her, you son of a bitch…" I heard Clint say, going to attack Loki._

I brought myself back to the present in order to not see what I knew was going to happen. I was, for lack of better words, disgusted. This alien man and I had nothing in common. And even if we did, he should have known better than to target the people that I loved. There were no words exchanged between the four of us until we landed on Fury's newest toy in the middle of the ocean. And even when Fury did speak, it was to give orders. I only paid half attention to what he was saying until I heard my name, after Maria and Phil walked away.

"Agent Mason, with me." Director Fury said, motioning for me to join him.

"Yes, sir?" I asked, snapping out of my brooding mood and prepared to take orders.

"As I'm sure you've probably already figured out, the Tesseract was stolen by Loki of Asgard." He explained quickly.

I frowned. "Loki of Asgard? Thor's brother, Loki?" I asked. I had met the god of thunder a year or so back in New Mexico at the same time I met Selvig, and another friend of mine, Jane Foster. And besides, Thor was a good person, even if we weren't on the best of speaking terms. How could someone related to him be so monstrous?

Fury nodded grimly. "Yes, him. The Tesseract emits a high frequency of gamma radiation, and I know for a fact that SHIELD alone can't trace it."

I nodded, catching on to his words. "So who can?"

The man smiled humorlessly. "I'm sure you already know the answer to that question."

"Dr. Bruce Banner."

"Right. He's still in Calcutta right now, but I've already set up a contact for you there that will bring him to you, but you need to leave immediately."

I raised my eyebrows. "You want me to go and get him? Isn't Agent Romanoff more suited to go?" Despite spending my whole life training, Fury was usually hesitant about sending me into potentially dangerous situations. I knew why, of course, and it was somewhat justified in a way, but not exactly. In my mind, it was completely ridiculous and a total waste of resources.

"Agent Romanoff already has a job to do." He dismissed easily. "Helicarrier 51B-9789 is waiting for you, and three others full of agents will be following you there in case of an incident."

"I've read the files. He's gone too long without an incident for me to need an army."

"I'm not going to risk it. Don't argue with me, Agent Mason. Go now. You won't need a bag."

"And if he doesn't want to go?"

Fury paused for a moment, and then smiled slightly. "Persuade him with any means possible."

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**And there's chapter one. Please review, tell me what you liked, what you didn't, any questions (not about the plot or about Emma, because I can assure you that they will be answered), comments, or just plain ol' criticism. Don't worry, I'm a big girl, I can handle it. **

**-Les**


	2. Meeting Dr Banner

**This chapter is going to be twice as long as my usual chapters, and I have a feeling that this story is going to have longer chapters because I've already written it, and it's just easier that way. Anyways, here's chapter two. Enjoy.**

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In my life, I had only been given two jobs from SHIELD that I hated the most: security detail, and just plain old _waiting_. So you could imagine my borderline irritation at sitting in a shack in the slums of Calcutta waiting for Bruce Banner and the little girl to arrive. I toyed with the ends of my blonde hair. Even though it was in a pony tail, it was rather long. If I let it out, it would fall just a little past my hips. I hardly ever did that, of course, because it was rather annoying to deal with, but if I had to, I would.

I had steadfastly refused the long skirt and almost-fashionable shirt that SHIELD requested I wear, and was instead in my typical Agent uniform, a black jumpsuit that was tailored exactly to me. I was snapped out of my musings when I noticed the little girl jump through the hole in the wall leaving me alone with Dr. Banner.

"Should've got paid up front, Banner." He murmured under his breath. I had read his files a thousand times, so it wasn't as if I didn't know what he looked like, but he looked different in person. More handsome.

_Cut it out, Em. You're here on a job, nothing more, _I chided myself. I mentally prepared my persona. I was no longer myself. I am a cold, ruthless agent of SHIELD. I have no sympathy. I am here to work. Not to admire how handsome Bruce Banner is.

I stepped out from my hiding place behind the curtains and he turned to look at me silently, as if he were sizing me up. "You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress, you picked a hell of a place to settle." I said nonchalantly, leaning on a pillar.

"Avoiding stress isn't the secret." He told me. His voice was soft, and sort of... Warm.

I raised my eyebrows. "Then what is it? Yoga?"

Dr. Banner ignored my question. "You've brought me to the edge of the city, smart. I uh... Assume the whole place is surrounded?" He asked, looking outside windows and holes in the wall.

"Just you and me." I lied smoothly. I did try to warn Fury, but he didn't seem to listen to me like most others did.

He looked as if he didn't trust me completely. And hell, who could blame him? After all, he's been on the run for too long to be able to trust anybody. "And your little actress buddy, is she a spy too? Do they start that young?"

I let out a humorless laugh. "I started younger." Try five years old, Banner. At least, that's when I started my spy training.

"Who are you?" He wondered, his face impassive.

"Emmaline Mason." I replied just as easily. I normally didn't like giving my full first name, but it seemed appropriate.

"Are you here to kill me, Miss Mason? Because that's not going to work out for everyone."

"No. No, of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD." I said a little too quickly. Not out of fear, I was not afraid of Bruce Banner, but because I didn't want him to think I was going to harm him in any way. Crap, this wasn't going according to my plan. I rearranged my features to the cold woman everybody else thought I was.

Banner let out a breath and ran his fingers through his hair, as if this new bit of information had aged him a few years. "SHIELD." he repeated. "How did they find me?"

"We never lost you, Dr. Banner. We've kept our distance, even helped keep some interested parties off your scent."

"Why?" He seemed genuinely perplexed.

I paused before I answered. I didn't want to tell him the whole truth, but I also didn't want to lie to him. "Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now, he needs you to come in."

"What if I said no?" He countered.

"You'll find that I'm very persuasive." And it was true, of course. Years and years of training with Natasha and Clint had made me a master of pretty much every skill I need for covert operations, plus I had my powers. I was sure that Bruce didn't know a thing about me, and I wanted to keep it that way. Not that I thought it would, but Fury had told me that if necessary, I had to fight him.

"What if the Other Guy says no?" I had already known how he refers to the Hulk. But hearing him say it was a different story. Did he truly think so badly of himself?

"You've been more than a year without an incident. I don't think you want to break that streak." I reminded him, repeating what I had told Fury.

"I don't always get what I want."

Okay then. Time to try a different tactic. "Doctor, we're facing a potential global catastrophe."

"Well, those I actively try to avoid." He joked, referring to our previous conversation on how he stops himself. Maybe in another time, another place, I would have laughed.

"This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe off the planet." I showed him a picture on my phone, and he stood closer to me to take a better look. He smelled nice, I noted in the back of my mind, hardly aware I was thinking it. Like freshly cut grass and cool mist. God knows why I was getting so poetic around a guy who was a hulking green monster on the inside.

_Shit, Emma, get yourself together_, I reminded myself.

"What does Fury want me to do, swallow it?" He asked sarcastically.

I made an effort to remain business like. Who the hell knows why I was suddenly having trouble maintaining my usual front, but I was. "He wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature too weak for us to trace. There's no one who knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be."

He raised his eyebrows in brief surprise. "So Fury isn't after the monster?"

"Not that he's told me." It was true. I had a hunch that there was something more to this than getting the Tesseract, but I trusted Fury on some level.

"And he tells you everything?"

_Yes, actually_. "Talk to Fury, he needs you on this."

"He needs me in a cage." He said, nonplussed.

I tried again. "No one's going to put you in a..."

"STOP LYING TO ME!" He yelled, slamming his hands down on the table between us.

In one swift movement, I pulled out my knives and poised myself to throw it. I knew, somewhere deep down that he wouldn't hurt me, but I've been trained too hard and too long to not have the reaction that I did. He smiled.

"Sorry," he chuckled. "That was mean. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Why don't we do this the easy way, where you don't use that, and the other guy doesn't make a mess? Okay? Emmaline..."

I didn't lower my weapon, but I spoke into my earpiece. "Stand down. We're good here." I said calmly.

He gives me a weary smile, but somehow extremely charming. "Just you and me, right?"

"I do apologize for that, but Fury insisted." I placed my knife back in my sheath tied to my belt, and turned my back on Banner, knowing he was going to come with me.

"Do you do everything he tells you? What are you, his lap dog?"

"Of sorts." I responded under my breath, a little too loudly. I walked quickly to the car that would take us to one of SHIELD's many private jets, not turning around to look at Bruce. "I hope you don't have anything you need to do, because the jet leaves in ten minutes."

"Who says I'm coming?" He responded once he caught up with me.

I smiled humorlessly. "Oh, Dr. Banner. I know you're coming."

"What, do you have mind powers or something?" He asked sarcastically, his brown eyes focused on me. I laughed out loud, a real, genuine laugh. _Again_, what _was_ it with this guy and just being able to make me…

"Where on Earth did you get that ridiculous notion?" I asked, neither confirming nor denying his theory.

"I don't know. So, Emmaline. That's kind of a lengthy name. What do people call you for short, Emma? Emily?" He asked conversationally.

"People call me Agent Mason." I said, getting into the car and scooting over so he could sit next to me.

"Your friends sit around and call you Agent Mason?" He asked, smirking. In the low light of the city, he looked nicer than he did in the house, where the only light source was my phone. His cheekbones were highlighted and more prominent, and his eyes shone brighter. His brown floppy hair fell over his forehead in a cute way, and he just all around looked attractive.

"No." I replied as the car began to drive to the hangar where the jet was. "Those who are close to me call me whatever they like." Take Tony Stark, for instance. It was a new nickname every time he addressed me.

"So I'm supposed to call you Agent Mason until you deem me your friend?"

"Am I supposed to call you Doctor Banner until you deem me your friend?" I countered playfully. Maybe he could be my friend, if I would only just get my shit together.

"Bruce." He corrected, shooting me a smile. Was he... Was he flirting with me?

I put up my icy exterior once again. "Agent Mason." I said shortly, effectively ending the conversation. I would think about this exchange later, but now wasn't the time. The world is at stake, I don't have time to think about Bruce Banner as a potential friend, only as a partner in finding the cube, and possibly a partner in fighting, if Fury's plan blew up, and I knew it would.

As soon as the car stopped right by the jet, I walked out of the car and motioned for Bruce to go first into the helicarrier. As soon as he finished surveying the interior, he glanced back at me. "How long is it going to take for us to get to SHIELD?"

"We're going to the main HQ in New York. It should only be about five hours."

"Holy shit. That's one fast jet." He blurted, and then cast another glance at me. "Sorry. I try not to cuss in front of women."

I was surprised. Here was a man who was, like me, not quite human, with neither of us having a reason to trust anyone, and he was joking around with me. Maybe I just had a stick up my ass after all, to quote Tony Stark.

"Emma." I said, causing Bruce to look up in surprise at me. "Call me Emma."

He smiled softly again. Damn. Maybe I just haven't seen enough men, but Bruce Banner was kind of (dare I say it?) hot. I shifted awkwardly. "Alright, Emma. Should we try this again?" He asked, and I nodded, a sort of smile coming to light.

He held his hand out for me to shake. "Hi, my name's Bruce Banner. I'd be happy to come work with you at SHIELD to find the Tesseract."

I took his hand and shook it, surprised at how soft his hand was. He had been working in the slums of Calcutta, after all. "Hi, Bruce. My name's Emma Mason. It's nice to meet you." I let go of his hand and sat down at a table, inviting him to sit on the other side.

"Now that that's over, it's time to talk business." I said, opening the files Fury gave me to go over with Bruce. "Now, the Tesseract..."

I was surprised at how easy it was to carry a conversation with Bruce. Even when the conversation was about work, he was a calming presence to me. And after all the shit that's happened to me, I needed a calming presence. Not once did he mention the other guy, and not once did I mention being a freak. He asked me how I got involved with SHIELD, and I told him that I wouldn't talk about it. I asked him about Calcutta, and he said he wouldn't talk about it.

It was odd, all of these feelings and shit, but I had a feeling I could handle it. I was, after all, a freaking super hero.

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**And there's chapter two. I hope you guys liked it. Review, tell me what you liked, what you didn't, so on and so forth I hoped this chapter helped answer at least some questions. I might be posting another chapter today, but who knows? **

**-Les**


	3. Back at SHIELD

**Hello, I'm back with a new chapter. For those of you who haven't read my other story (and I encourage you all to do so), it's tradition for me to answer my reviews in the first authors note, so here goes. **

**Ashe (guest): ****All will be revealed shortly. As I said, I've written quite a bit of this story already, and answered about ninety percent of the questions in what I've already written. Thank you, by the way, for being my first reviewer on this story.**

**The Sorceress's Apprentice:****Hello again! Thanks for coming over to the darker side of my writing because, if you couldn't tell, this is a lot less fluffy than Accidentally in Love. But I love it just as much. Thanks for the praise, I wasn't sure if I could pull this off, but apparently I did. **

**Anyways, here's chapter three.**

* * *

Bruce and I were continuing sharing theories about where the Tesseract was when we landed in HQ. He fidgeted as he walked, and almost didn't notice Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff walking to where we were standing.

"Bruce," I whispered and elbowed him gently. He looked up at me and I nodded towards Captain Rogers. I relaxed a bit more. Nat and Steve were two out of three of my best friends. It was no use trying to be Agent Mason around them. Maybe it was a good thing. I could be the real me in front of Bruce, and it would maybe be alright.

"Dr. Banner." Steve said, shaking Bruce's hand.

"Oh, yeah, hi. Agent Mason told me you'd be coming." He said distractedly. Oh. Back to Agent Mason as soon as we're around people. I could respect it, of course, but he didn't know about how close I was to the two people standing in front of me.

"Really?" Steve raised his eyebrows, looking at me. "What else has Emmaline said about me?"

Bruce looked from me to Steve, confused. "Uh..."

I smiled and addressed Bruce. "Steve and I are good friends. We found that we had a lot in common when he woke up."

Steve flashed me a sad smile. He knew we were talking about the serum. How we got our abilities. "Is that so?" Bruce asked. Nat watched the whole scene, looking at me.

I briefly looked into her mind._ Oh, we are so having a talk about you and 'Bruce'_. She mocked inside of her head.

I grimaced inwardly. So she heard me address him as Bruce instead of Dr. Banner. _Nat, it's nothing_, I protested.

_Riiight, s_he thought. I could tell by her mental tone that this wasn't the end of this conversation.

I shot Steve a look. _Change the subject, Steve._ The whole exchange took less than a second, hardly noticeable by Bruce. Good. I still wasn't sure if Fury wanted him to know just yet, or even if I wanted him to know just yet.

He cleared his throat. "Word on the street is that you can find the cube."

"Is that the only word on me?" He asked, outwardly only to Steve, possibly asking if he knows about the Hulk, but I knew that he was also asking that question to me. How much I knew about him. He had asked me before, on the jet, but I didn't answer.

"Only word I care about," came the reply. Good old Steve.

Bruce seemed taken aback by Steve's kindness. "Must be strange for you. All this." He motioned to all of the high tech gear being carted this way and that, and the ship they were standing on.

Steve smiled briefly. "Well, this is actually kind of familiar."

"Gentlemen, you might want to step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe," said Natasha, grinning at me.

The craft shook and hummed as it prepared to take flight. Steve looked around in confusion. "Is this a submarine?"

"Really? They want me in a submerged pressurized metal container?" Bruce looked at me, raising his eyebrows as if to say, 'You didn't mention this part.' I smirked.

"Go and take a look." I followed Steve and Bruce to the edge of the craft as the fan wings came out. Steve looked flabbergasted, but Bruce just smiled, as if he was impressed but was sort of expecting it.

I motioned for the two to walk inside, and I joined Fury on the bridge. Steve and Bruce stared out the giant window as we took flight.

"Gentlemen." Fury said, extending his hand to Steve, not to shake, but to grab.

"Cough up, Steve," I teased.

He rolled his eyes at me and handed Nick ten dollars.

Bruce watched amused, until Nick held his hand out for him to shake. He looked at me, and I nodded. I tried not to send any positive or negative energy to influence him, so the decision would be all his own. I wanted to see what he would do.

Reluctantly, he shook Fury's hand. "Doctor." Fury greeted. "Thank you for coming."

Bruce glanced at me. "Thank you for asking nicely. So, uh... How long am I staying?" Hm. Interesting. He trusted me to an extent, but clearly didn't trust Fury.

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear." Nick informed him.

"Where are you with that?" He asked.

I carefully watched Natasha as a photograph of Clint's face appeared on the screen she was looking at. She never told me, and neither had he, but I was positive the two assassins had cared for each other far more than they let on. And next to each other, I knew them best. Plus, you know, my mind powers.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us." Agent Phil Coulson reported. I liked Phil. He was usually such a calm and stoic man, in and out of the field, but if you've ever been lucky enough to hear him talk about his hero, Captain America, then you'll know that he's not always like that.

"That's still not going to find them in time." Natasha said, her voice and face giving away nothing, but the powerful wave of grief I felt from her told me otherwise. I sent her as much of a calming feeling as I could muster without using my hands to physically send it. My powers were still weak in that aspect, and it was a major drawback. If I were to be undercover and needed my powers, I needed to be able to tap into as much power as possible without hurting myself and without giving away the fact that I had powers and was using them.

"You have to narrow the field," Bruce said, in his element now. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?" Fury asked rhetorically, and I smirked. He's such a show off. He pretends that he's such a cold man, but I've known him long enough to know that he's so proud of his work with SHIELD and building it to full potential.

Bruce didn't even crack a smile. "Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have a place for me to work?"

"Agent Romanoff, will you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please." It wasn't a question. Nat nodded and led Bruce down the hallway.

"You're gonna love it, doc. We've got all the toys." Natasha said, smiling at him.

I stood to follow, but Fury stopped me. "Agent Mason."

I spun around to face him. "Yes, Director?" I had known Nick Fury since I was born, but that didn't change anything. I was still Agent Mason and he was still Director Fury.

"I need you to keep an eye on Dr. Banner. Make sure nothing happens to make him lose his temper. Use your powers if you need to, but damnit, do _not_ let him change." He spoke lowly as to not be overheard.

"Understood, sir. I'll stay with him at all times." I nodded, waiting to be dismissed. I was shocked that he had given me permission to use my powers, but I was trained better than to let it show.

"Does he know about you?" He asked.

"No, sir. Do you want me to tell him?"

"Not until the time is right, when I tell everybody about the Avengers Initiative."

Now, I was surprised. "The Avengers Initiative? I thought that idea was tossed ages ago." I knew that I was literally born to be an Avenger, but I was relieved beyond belief once I found out Fury dismissed the program. Now he's telling me its back?

"The world is at stake here, Agent Mason. I don't have a choice."

"What if we find the Tesseract before Loki does?"

"Then we won't need the Avengers. But if it goes into a fight, and I'm positive that it will, we need you. You know we can't do this without you. Will you be able to cooperate with the rest of the Avengers?"

I didn't know my answer to that question. But I did know what Fury wanted me to say. "If necessary, I will fight." Just like I was born to do. Congratulations, Nick Fury. You have your soldier back.

"Good. You're dismissed, Agent." He said, putting his fingers to the bridge of his nose as I turned my back on Fury. "Tony Stark isn't even here yet, and I already have a headache."

I smirked triumphantly and acted as if I didn't hear him, and walked to Bruce's lab. The weight on my shoulders was back, and I could feel myself taking heavier steps than usual. It was the weight of the world, literally.

Natasha looked at me and back at Bruce as soon as I entered. "I'll leave you two to your science." She looked at me for a second longer. _Does he know about you?_

_I can't talk about it, Nat. Talk to Fury. If he wants to tell you, he'll tell you._ I replied, walking past her as she walked away.

"Is uh... Is Natasha really an assassin?" He asked, not looking up from his work. His purple shirt hung off his body wonderfully, and thin rimmed glasses framed his brown eyes.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. She and Clint Barton are SHIELD's top assassins. They were the ones who trained me." I took a look at some data and focused on it, refusing to look at Bruce.

This caught his attention, he looked up at me. "Trained you? You didn't exactly strike me as the assassin type, not until you threatened me with a knife."

I looked back at him evenly. "I was born to be in SHIELD." It was true, but I was born to be more than part of SHIELD. I was born to be an Avenger, but it wasn't his time to know yet.

"What do you mean?" He asked, puzzled, taking off his glasses.

"My mother didn't exactly want me. SHIELD saw the opportunity to train a child to see how they would turn out when they grew up and they took it." I couldn't look at him, I couldn't. I just told him that I was a test subject, a lab experiment. There goes my chance with him. Way to go, Emma. Not only did you just get personal with a person who barely even know you and a person you barely even know except from reading his files, but you're now thinking about your 'chance' with him. I was so totally screwed.

Next thing I know, he was enveloping me in a bone crushing hug. "I'm so sorry, Em."

_He called me Em_, I thought dizzily. I wasn't exactly sure how to respond. "Bruce, its fine. Really." But he wouldn't let me go.

I hesitantly wrapped my arms around him in return. This was... New. I was a huge stranger to this affection. And from Bruce, it frightened me a little. He held me for a long time, and I found myself growing more and more content with it. Again I was reminded of his wonderful smell; freshly mowed grass and a sort of cool misty smell. It was nice.

He pulled away, his cheeks flushed. "Uh, sorry. I just... I'm sorry that you were born into this. I thought you had a choice."

I smiled. "It's fine. That's why I wanted to give you a choice back in Calcutta. Because I didn't have a choice to join SHIELD, but I wanted you to have a choice on at least joining us for a mission."

"Why don't you quit now?"

I shrugged. "SHIELD has done a lot for me, I guess. And honestly, I'm not sure what I would do without it." Not to mention I needed to use SHIELD to help train me.

Bruce nodded. "If you had a chance to leave, would you?"

I frowned. "I don't know."

He was about to say something when Agent Coulson walked in. "Agent Mason, you're needed. We found him."

I didn't argue. What I did do, was turn back to Bruce. "It was very nice to meet you, Doctor Banner." I said politely. He frowned.

"Something tells me you don't plan on coming back." Bruce said slowly.

I smiled back, almost a genuine smile. "Don't underestimate me yet." I left him with that, and went to a private room where I could, as Tony liked put it, 'suit up'.

My suit was simple. Over the jumpsuit I was currently wearing, I had a light but thick armor over vital regions and it was highlighted in the same dark blue that was on my glider. I grinned to myself as I picked up my glider, in a convenient compact form, and pocketed it. It was a light glider made of highly strong titanium that I simply hooked my feet into and made it levitate with my own powers. It was one of a kind, and also the image most associated with me to the general public. Well, not me, per se. The Witch. I grimaced. The name was ridiculous, but it wasn't as if I could change it.

Pulling my long hair into a tighter pony tail at the top of my head, I walked to the helicarrier, not noticing Bruce's eyes follow me as I went. I was ready. In full uniform, I felt stronger, more confident. In other words, I was ready to kick some ass.

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**I wasn't quite sure how to end this chapter, but I hope it isn't too bad. When I was writing this, I wasn't exactly planning for chapters and whatnot, so it's all one big thing on Word for me. I hope y'all like it, nonetheless, and please review. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't, ask me questions, or just passing comments. Thank you!**

**-Les**


	4. Germany and Tony Stark

**Hi guys. Sorry that it's been a while since I last posted, but I'm here now. I'm not 100% satisfied with this chapter, so I might come back and do some more editing in a couple days. But for now, I can answer the review that I got.**

**Obscured Angel: ****Thanks. I'm trying to keep pretty close to the actual Avengers story line, because I'm afraid of what might happen if I don't. Thanks for reviewing.**

**FaithfulReader92: ****Thanks for reading, and enjoy chapter four.  
**

**Disclaimer! I do not own Avengers, nor do I pretend to. The only thing I can even imagine claiming rights to is Emma. **

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Once on the jet, I was shocked to find that Loki was in Germany, of all places. After the mostly silent ride with Steve (Natasha was flying), we stopped in the night sky. What I found on the video screen just disgusted me. People were kneeling to him. Natasha looked at me and nodded. I looked to Steve, who was pulling up his hood and unlocking the case that held his shield. The blind anger and hatred running through him was now running through me, too. It was easy to take and borrow from somebody else's feelings once I had practice with it, and it sure as hell helped in fights like these.

He caught my eyes, and I could almost see the internal fire burning. "Let's go." He said, leaping out of the jet. Natasha smirked as I muttered something about superheroes being overly-dramatic as jumped out of the plane myself. Pulling out the compacted glider, I flicked my wrist and watched as it clicked to full form, and I used my mind to hook the straps to my feet and to levitate the glider, making myself fly. I stayed out of sight of the frightened Germans, hovering a few hundred feet in the air, enjoying the free feeling while I could.

When I noticed Steve drop down and protect a man from Loki's ray, I flew down. I was able to fly by levitating the glider beneath my feet, seeing as how I couldn't figure out how to levitate myself yet. I've been training hard for years, but still can't do something that simple. I gritted my teeth as the people noticed me when I dropped down, mentally unhooking my glider, folding it, and putting it in my pocket with my mind in the blink of an eye.

"Ah, the Mind Witch. I was hoping I would be graced with your presence. Last time, as I recall, you weren't exactly able to speak." Loki smiled at me. "And the soldier, out of his time. Tell me, have you two bonded over your similar fates?"

My eyes flickered over to Steve and back to Loki as I held my hands up, prepared to fight. Steve frowned. "I'm not the one who's out of time."

Natasha's jet appeared, drawing Loki's attention. Her cool voice spoke over the intercom. "Stand down, Loki." She ordered.

Hoping to take her by surprise, Loki used his staff to shoot a bolt of what looked like blue lightning, which was narrowly avoided by the assassin. That was the final straw. My instincts kicked in. I moved in and landed a square kick to Loki's jaw, and he grimaced and frowned at me. Without a single warning, he picked me up by my throat and threw me into high up into the air, about twenty feet about Nat's jet. I choked in surprise when I got as high as I was going to get, and reached for my pocket to get to my glider. I was approaching the ground rapidly and without a safe way to land when I heard ACDC's _Shoot to Thrill_ began playing from the jet. "Agent Romanoff, Princess, did you miss me?" Tony's voice said arrogantly, and before I knew it, _right_ when I was opening my glider to save myself, was swooped into Iron Man's arms.

_Damn it, Stark! You know that I can save myself!_ I ground out, shooting him angry thoughts and feelings.

"Get used to it, Princess. Looks like we're going to be seeing a lot of each other. Does the Avengers Initiative ring a bell to you?" He asked through his suit. Shit. If Fury talked to Stark about it, well, there's a good chance that it's being brought back.

Before I could reply, Tony set me down on the ground and opened every bit of weaponry he had on his suit, and took off his face mask as I created a ball of pure energy that I took from a nearby power source and held it between my hands. Oops. Looks like some of the people in Strasburg, Germany would be without power until I was done with this.

"Make your move, Reindeer Games." Tony challenged. Loki looked to all three of us before surrendering, putting his hands in the air and I watched in brief amazement as his armor disappeared in a shaft of golden light. I sent the staff to the jet, not even watching it as it soared upwards. The Captain glanced at me, as if to ask if I was okay, and I nodded. He, like most other people, couldn't get the hang of just thinking what he wanted to say and hoping that I would catch it.

"Mr. Stark." He greeted.

"Captain." Tony nodded.

I raised my eyebrows. This wouldn't be good. I spoke into my earpiece. "Agent Romanoff, lift us out of here." I ordered. Because I had worked at SHIELD for my entire life, people seemed to take orders from me. I didn't like it, but it came in handy. Now, I was in full leadership mode.

"Yes, ma'am." Natasha replied, not teasing in the slightest. I was her superior officer in the field, and we both knew that, but we were also best friends off the field.

I looked up to see a rope ladder descend right above me. "Mr. Stark, fly up to the jet and get handcuffs ready. Captain Rogers, you get on the ladder first, Loki will go second, and I will follow. Loki, if you have any ideas about trying to escape, I will not hesitate to knock you unconscious for several days. Do not cross me. Go." I ordered, and neither Loki, Steve or Tony (thank God) questioned me, and they did as they were told.

Even though Loki was confined as we got back onto the jet, I still felt nervous. The sky outside was dark and a storm appeared to be brewing. I heard Fury speak to me through my ear piece. "Has he said anything?"

I looked over at him. I knew he could hear both me and Fury, but the Asgardian remained unresponsive. "Not a word," I responded.

"Just get him here. We're low on time." He said, and clicked off his microphone. I moved over to where Tony and Steve were whispering, casting an occasional look over at Loki.

"I don't like it," Steve was saying, looking at Tony.

"What, Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Tony replied. I knew it was bothering him too, I could feel it.

I joined the conversation. "He's right. It's never this easy."

"Still," Tony continued, as if nothing had happened. "You're pretty spry for an older fellow. What's your thing? Pilates?"

Steve frowned. "What?"

I took pity on my friend. "It's like calisthenics." I explained, trying to shut Tony up before he could say anything else to offend Steve. Now, I loved the guy, he was like the big brother I never wanted, but he really didn't have a sense of when and when to not shut up with those smart ass comments of his.

"You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle." Tony noted, and I slapped a hand to my forehead. He was an idiot.

I could tell Steve was angry but he was also good at holding it in. "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"Steve, Tony–" I tried, but got cut off.

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury didn't tell you."

"Damnit, Tony!" I ground out, and lightning flashed outside, causing the two to finally stop arguing and look at me. "That wasn't me." I said.

"Where's it coming from?" Natasha asked. I had a pretty good idea of where it was coming from, but I didn't want to say it. I looked over to Loki, who was looking outside almost nervously. Crap. So I was right.

"What's the matter?" Steve challenged, "Scared of a little lightning?"

_Steve_, I mentally warned, and the soldier's head snapped up to me. He had learned to trust me more than other SHIELD agents, and it came in handy. Not that I was using him. We were the best of friends, but he was incredibly stubborn on and off of the field, which made it difficult for me to try to help him.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows." Loki stated. We all turned to the window to look at the wing of the jet as a loud noise and a flash of light erupted just outside. It was Thor. Of course. _Prepare yourselves for the fight of your lives, boys._ I sent to Steve and Tony.

I held the two back as the ramp was opened and Thor flew in, grabbing Loki by the throat and jumping out of the jet without a second glance to anyone else. Tony broke free of my grasp using the strength of his suit, and I didn't need my powers to know what he was about to do. I wordlessly handed Tony his helmet, knowing I wouldn't be able to stop him.

"Thanks, sweetheart." He grinned and winked at me, taking the helmet from me.

"Another Asgardian?" Asked Natasha from the cockpit.

"Is this one friendly?" Steve asked me.

I nodded in confirmation as Tony spoke. "Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract is lost." With his suit on completely, he turned to the open ramp and prepared himself to jump.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Steve protested.

"I have a plan," he replied smugly, "Attack." He jumped out, following the path Thor and Loki had taken. Steve just looked at me.

"Did you seriously just _let_ him do that?" He asked in disbelief.

I cracked a grin. "Captain Rogers, there are two rules I've learned to follow over the years where Tony Stark is involved. Rule one, there are no rules, unless he's the one who's made them. Rule two, trying to talking him out of anything will most likely end in your own destruction/humiliation."

I was beginning to think I had taken lessons from Tony with the dramatic exits as I unfolded my glider and followed the two, doing what I liked to call a controlled fall for extra speed. It was simple; I allowed myself to be somewhat controlled by gravity up until I was a certain amount of distance from the ground or unless I needed to adjust where I was headed, and then I levitated to glider to move where I needed to be.

I looked around the sky and stopped, levitating in place. I was in a crouching position, my feet firmly on my glider, and both hands holding the edge. Steve had, predictably, taken a parachute and was now looking down at me and nodded as much as someone could during a free fall. I rolled my eyes at him then adjusted my position, looking like I was diving down to the area where I saw Tony and Thor fight. I sighed as I touched down at the same time Cap did, folding my glider up and pocketing it.

His shield was thrown in between the two men, and they stopped to look at us. I probably looked a little less threatening, being on the ground with no visible weapon, and Captain on a rock high above ground with the strongest shield in the universe, but both the god and the genius knew what I was capable of.

"That's enough." Steve said, jumping down with perfect agility. "Now, I don't know what you're doing here…"

"I have come to put an end to Loki's schemes!" Thor cried out, indignant.

"Then prove it!" Steve had a bad habit of challenging people. "Put the hammer down."

Tony tried, _again_, to make a dumb ass remark. "Um, yeah, no, bad call! He loves his hammer-!" Thor simply swatted him away like an annoying fly, then turned to Cap. "You want me to put my hammer down?" He questioned angrily, and then ran towards the soldier, who raised his shield to cover his body.

"_ENOUGH._" I yelled, throwing a force field in between the hammer and the shield. Even so, a brilliant blue-white light filled the area like a shock wave as the hammer and the shield came into contact, destroying everything within a mile radius.

"Holy shit, princess." Tony commented, dusting off his suit. "Somebody's been practicing."

"Lady Emmaline, I apologize for my behavior." Thor said with a small bow. We had gained mutual respect for one another back in New Mexico.

"Its fine, Thor." I assured him, raising my eyebrows at the rest of the three. "Are we good here?"

Murmured assents were throwing in my direction, and we all made it to the jet without another word. I filled Natasha in mentally about what had happened, but other than that, we remained silent. I was furious beyond belief that Loki had almost gotten away due to males and their stupid need to be tougher than everyone else.

In my frustration on the jet back, I didn't notice that I had mentally picked up a piece of scrap metal from the plane and was crumpling and smoothing it back out again with my mind. I missed the unspoken conversation of raised eyebrows between Thor, Steve and Tony about my behavior.

As soon as we had touched back down at the carrier, I had stomped into my room, taking off my super suit and replacing it with a pair of navy blue jeans and a silver tank top. I released my hair from the confines of its pony tail and ran a brush through it. It was tangle free and reaching down to my hips within seconds. My bright green eyes were flashing with anger, and I made an effort to calm myself down as I made my way to the conference room, where I knew Loki's interrogation would be broadcasted.

This was where it was going to get hairy.

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**Please review, tell me what you liked, what you didn't, so on and so forth. I'm open to new ideas and constructive criticism. **

**-Les**


	5. The Interrogations

I walked over to Bruce, who was standing alone at the edge of the table, because I was furious with everyone else in the room. Plus, back in Calcutta, he had sort of calmed me down, and maybe he could do it again. He looked up briefly to acknowledge my presence, but nothing more. I frowned. I thought that we were friends, or at least on our way to becoming friends. What had happened?

"…an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me." Loki was saying. Oh. Bruce was probably thinking that I had lied to him, back in Calcutta. I looked over at him, and he stiffened, glancing over at me with a hurt expression on his face.

"Built for someone a lot stronger than you." I heard Fury correct. _Shit, shit, shit_. Bruce's trust in SHIELD already wasn't very high, but now he has to listen to this?

"Oh, I've heard. The mindless beast, makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you that you could call on such lost creatures?" Loki goaded. Without thinking, I slipped my hand into Bruce's. He squeezed my hand gently, and I squeezed back, lacing our fingers together. I'm still not sure why I did it, but it felt right. If the others asked, and more importantly, if Nat, Steve, Tony or Fury asked, I did it so he could feel like he could still trust me, and it was partially true. I didn't lie to him in Calcutta, so I knew that wasn't the reason why I was holding his hand. There was something else, something I couldn't figure out quite yet.

"How desperate am I?" Fury repeated. "You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and yet you kill 'cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

I knew what he was talking about. The Avengers Initiative. I felt that weight back on my shoulders again, and Bruce looked at me questioningly, but I dismissed him with a shake of my head. He squeezed my hand for support, and I stood just a little bit closer to him. I didn't even question what the hell I was doing this time. I was just so emotionally drained that I let my wall come down, if only for a brief moment. Besides, I was surrounded by friends here. I could relax. Ish.

"Ooh, it burns you to come so close." Loki smirked on the screen. "To have the Tesseract, to have power, to have unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is."

I could almost hear Fury smile humorlessly through his sarcasm as he walked out of the holding area. "Well, let me know of Real Power wants a magazine or something."

As he walked out, Loki smirked, glaring tauntingly at the security camera in the cell he was in. I stared back evenly and used the hand that was holding his to turn Bruce away from the Asgardian's eyes. I turned around to face Captain America and Thor. "Well, he really grows on you, doesn't he?" I said, trying to calm down Bruce without using my powers, just to see if I could. I ran my thumb across his hand, and he held it tighter.

"Loki's really gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play?" Steve asked.

The god mentally shook himself out of his thoughts. "He has an army called the Chitauri. They are not of Asgard or any other world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

Bruce turned back to me. "I thought you were kidding about the 'we have a god on our side' thing." He spoke lowly, hoping to not attract attention. I remembered our conversation back on the plane from Calcutta.

"I never kid, Dr. Banner." I murmured back.

"Oh, so it's back to Dr. Banner now? Should I call you Agent Mason?" He teased into my ear, squeezing my hand. Oh my god, he was totally flirting with me. On the _bridge_. My _coworkers_ could be listening to this. Not the mention the rest of the_ freaking Avengers, _(minus Tony, thank God, I didn't know if he would have let me live this down if he were here)who were most definitely paying attention now. God, talk about timing. We were literally at war, and he chooses now to flirt with me?

My face flushed crimson, betraying me. "Is this necessary, this human ritual?" Thor asked, perplexed.

Steve's jaw was dropped about as low as it could've gone. He was blushing too, but not as much. I suppose he was raised back when all of this wasn't exactly appropriate... Then again, it's not really appropriate right now, at a planning meeting on how to save the world.

The famous Captain America cleared his throat awkwardly. "So, uh, an army? From outer space?" He asked, effectively switching the mood.

"He's building another portal. That's probably what he needs Erik Selvig for." I said, catching Thor's attention.

"Selvig?" He asked me, concerned. Oh, that's right. He had met Selvig in New Mexico at the same time I did.

"He's an astrophysicist." Natasha said, adding her two cents into the conversation.

"He's a friend." The god corrected.

"Loki has him under some sort of spell, along with one of ours." Natasha informed him.

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here." Steve frowned.

Bruce frowned. "I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him."

Thor stepped forward to confront Bruce, and I held the hand that wasn't locked with Bruce's out instinctively to protect him. I knew he didn't need protection, but the movement was almost second nature.

"I don't care how you speak. But he is from Asgard, and he is my brother." Thor said, frowning back at Bruce.

"He killed eighty people in two days," I reminded him.

Thor grimaced. "He's adopted?" He offered.

I smirked. Bruce was deep in thought. "Iridium, what did they need the Iridium for?"

And that was when Tony Stark walked in, followed by Agent Coulson. "It's a stabilizing agent." He answered Bruce, and then turned to Phil. "I'll fly you there. Keep the love alive," he eyed the group that was glaring over at him seemingly without a care in the world, "Means to portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at SHIELD."

Tony turned to Thor. "No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing." He tapped Thor's arms, and turned to Bruce. "It also means that Loki can keep the portal open for as long as he likes, and as wide as he likes." Still on his tirade, he turned to the crew. "Uh, raise the mid-mast, jib to top sail." The crew looked at him as if he was out of his mind. Tony sighed, exasperated, pointing to a startled crewman. "That man is playing _Galaga_! He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did."

He then turned to me. "Nice to see you out of uniform, Princess. Good job with the new boyfriend, I approve." he winked towards Bruce's and I's interlocking hands, drawing the attention of everyone within hearing range, _which was the whole damn bridge_, and we dropped immediately. Before I could protest that Bruce isn't my boyfriend (_yet_, a voice sang in my mind. _Bruce isn't your boyfriend yet_), Tony covered one eye. "How does Fury do this?"

I smirked. "He turns." Despite how annoying as hell Tony Stark was, he was also fun to be around. Going unnoticed by everyone else but me, who was keeping a close eye on Stark, he placed a button under Nick's desk. Knowing him, it was probably a hacking device. I wasn't going to stop him. SHIELD kept secrets from me too, and I wanted to know what they were.

"Well, that sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube." Ah, now he was speaking my language. SHIELD had made me an expert on just about every branch of science there was.

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" I asked sarcastically.

"Last night, baby doll. Impressed yet?" He winked at me, and I scoffed. Bruce just watched the exchange, amused. "The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction theory. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

"Does Loki need any particular power source?" Steve asked.

"He would have to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Bruce informed Tony.

"Unless Selvig figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect," I pointed out.

"Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any nuclear reactor on the planet." Bruce replied.

"Finally, people who speak English." Tony cracked a grin.

"Is that what just happened?" Cap asked Natasha, who shrugged.

Tony and Bruce shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collision is unparalleled. Your girlfriend's hot, smart, powerful and scary as hell, and I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

Bruce flushed crimson and looked down, and I flicked Tony in the forehead. "Watch it, Princess. Don't damage the merchandise." He retorted, rubbing where I just flicked.

"Don't be an ass," I threw back.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him." Nick Fury said, announcing his presence and shooting Tony a rude look, and myself a more calm one.

"Well, let's start with that stick of his." Steve said, referencing Loki's staff that was now in Bruce's lab for Tony, Bruce and I to analyze. "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. I'd like to know how he used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his person flying monkeys." Fury said, agitated.

Thor frowned. "Monkeys? I do not understand –"

"I do!" Steve exclaimed, raising his hand and looking extremely pleased with himself. "I understood that reference."

I smiled and gave him an encouraging nod. _Good job, Cap_. He just grinned back at me, like a child receiving praise from their parents, apparently glad that I had forgiven him for being an idiot. Tony just rolled his eyes.

"Princess? Doc? Shall we go play?" Tony asked, wanting to get away from everyone.

"Let's play some." Bruce agreed, and I nodded.

"Let's go." I agreed, walking off with the two to the labs.

After about a half an hour of reading and analyzing data, Bruce finally spoke. "The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract. But it's gonna take weeks to process." His glasses were back on again, as he ran his fingers through his floppy brown hair.

"If we bypass the mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this thing at about six hundred teraflops." I said, placing my hands on my hips.

Bruce shot me an amused look. "And all I packed was a tooth brush." I grinned back at him, my first genuine grin since meeting him.

"You know, you two lovebirds should stop by Stark Towers sometime. Top ten floors, all R&D. You'd love it, its candy land. And JARVIS really misses you, baby doll. So does Pepp." Tony pointed out.

I rolled my eyes, adjusting my hip length hair to have at least some strands in front. I knew I was still in my tank top and jeans, so I might as well go all the way. Bruce answered for me. "Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke... Harlem." He admitted, almost ashamed.

"Well, I promise a stress free environment. No tension, no surprises." And Tony, of course, because his last name is fucking Stark, pulls out a miniature electrical prod and pokes Bruce with it.

"Ow!" Bruce exclaims, rubbing his arm. I roll my eyes and take the prod from Tony and jab him with it. He jumps back in pain, and I pocket the prod.

"Jackass," I mutter.

Tony just shrugs and looks at Bruce. "Nothing? Seriously?"

"Hey!" Steve says, walking into the lab. "Are you nuts?"

"You really have got a lid on it, haven't you?" Tony mused, ignoring Cap entirely. "What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?"

Steve just looked agitated. "Is everything a joke to you?"

Tony shrugged. "Funny things are." I slapped a palm to my face. _Jesus, Tony._

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny." Steve shot back, taking a look and Bruce and I. "No offense, doctor."

Bruce shrugged. "None taken. I wouldn't have come here if I couldn't handle pointy things."

"Ah. Didn't want to hurt your new GF?" Tony goaded, waiting for a reaction. Bruce just raised his eyebrows.

"Nothing? Damn, I thought that one would get you. You are tip toeing, big man. It's time for you to strut."

"And you need to focus on the problem at hand, Tony." I pointed out.

"You don't think I'm trying, sweetheart? Why did Fury call us, and why now? Why not before? I know it's bugging you, Em. And besides, I can't solve the equation if I don't have all of the variables." He said. And he was right. It was bugging me.

For example: why was Fury choosing now to bring back the Avengers Initiative? Was he lying to me all those years ago when he told me the idea was tossed? Did he call Bruce so he could force him to turn into the Hulk, to complete the Avengers?

Steve, however, looked perplexed. "You think he's hiding something?"

Tony only let out a humorless laugh. "He's a spy. He's _the_ spy, Cap. His secrets, meaning Emma," he pointed to me with a screwdriver, "Have secrets. It's bugging you too, isn't it, Banner?"

Bruce threw up his hands in defense. "I uh... Just want to finish my work here and uh..."

I frowned. "Bruce?"

Tony laughed. "Bruce?" He mocked aloud, to catch my attention so I could pay attention to his thoughts. _Oh, my god, kid. I was just kidding before, but this is gold._ He thought, smug.

I ignored him, and focused on Bruce. "'A warm light for all mankind.' Loki's jab at the cube." He said slowly.

"Yes, we heard it." Steve said, his polite way of telling him to get to his point.

Bruce pointed at Tony. "Well, I think that was meant for you."

Steve frowned. "You mean Stark Tower? That big, ugly..." Tony shot him a warning look, "Building in New York?" He asked.

"It's powered by Stark reactors," I explained to Steve, "self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what, like, a year?"

"It's just a prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now." Tony said.

"So why didn't SHIELD bring him in earlier for the Tesseract project? I mean, what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?" Bruce asked rhetorically, but looked at me. I shook my head to indicate that I didn't know. I had asked Fury before, but he kept his mouth, and mind, shut.

"I should probably look into that once my decryption programmer finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure photos." Tony said nonchalantly.

Steve's jaw dropped. "I'm sorry, did you say...?"

"Jarvis has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours, we'll know every dirty little secret SHIELD has to hide." Tony smirked, and pulled out a bag and offered it to me. "Blueberry, Princess?" He asked charmingly, and I shrugged and took one, popping it into my mouth. Ooh, chocolate covered. I could use some chocolate right about now.

"And you're okay with this, Emma?" Steve asked me incredulously.

I shrugged. "Cap, Fury doesn't tell me as much as he used to. I don't know much more than you do, and I'd like to find out what he's been keeping from me. Anything Tony can do to help me uncover those secrets, I'm welcome to."

Steve rolled his eyes as Tony beamed at me. "Yet you wonder why they didn't want you around, Mr. Stark?"

Tony scoffed. "An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Totally not awesome." He said, chewing on another blueberry.

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up." Steve pointed out. "This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't cooperate, he'll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them." Steve was a great guy, really, but he is a little too obedient. Maybe that was okay back in his time, but I knew that that would only get him hurt in this time.

"Following's not really my style." Tony said.

Steve smiled sardonically. "And you're all about style, aren't you?"

Tony set down his bag of blueberries, indignant. "Of all the people in this room, which of us is A; wearing a spangly outfit, and B, not of use?"

_Tony. Calm down a little. Remember, he's out of his time, and a soldier._

Lay off, Emma. You're starting to sound like Pepper.

Maybe if you weren't such an ass all of the time, I wouldn't need to act like Pepper.

I tried to appeal to Steve. "Come on, Steve. Tell me none of this doesn't smell even a little funky to you."

He looked at me, considering the possibility, and then shook his head. _I'm sorry, Emma._

"Just find the cube." He said shortly.

I sighed, running my fingers through my hair and glancing upwards.

"That's the guy my dad never shut up about?" Tony snorted. "I'm wondering if they should have kept him on ice." He glanced at me, expecting me to reprimand him, mentally or physically, but I stayed silent, staring at my shoes.

"The guy's not wrong about Loki," Bruce pointed out. "He does have the jump on us."

"What he's got is an ACME dynamite kit." Tony said. "It's gonna blow up in his face, and I'm gonna be there when it does." I didn't look up, but I was surprised. Usually, Tony didn't care who he was speaking to, he bragged to everybody about my powers like a proud parent. Why wasn't he saying anything to Bruce?

Bruce glanced at me. "And I'll read about it." He said, trying to end the conversation. I rubbed my temples, already feeling the headache Tony was going to give me from arguing.

"Uh-huh," Tony said, nonplussed. "Or you'll be suiting up like the rest of us."

Bruce smile humorlessly. "Ah, see? I don't get a suit of armor. I'm exposed, like a nerve. It's a nightmare. I'm no hero. I'm not like the rest of you."

His blatant self hatred stopped me in my tracks. I could _feel_ it, and damn if it didn't hurt like a mother fucker.

"You know, I've got pieces of shrapnel, every second trying to claw its way into my heart." Tony tapped on his reactor. "This stops it. This little circle of light. It's a part of me now, not just a suit of armor. It's a...terrible privilege."

"But you can control it."

"Because I learned how."

Bruce sighed. "It's different." He again tried to finish the conversation, this time by pulling up data on the computer screen. Tony simply pushed it away with his fingers.

"Hey, I've read all about your accident. All of that gamma exposure should have killed you."

Bruce stared back quietly. "So you're saying that the Hulk..." he flinched, "the Other Guy... Saved my life? That's nice, that's a nice sentiment. But saved it for what?"

Tony paused for a moment. "Well, I guess we'll find out."

The two worked for a few minutes longer before Bruce spoke again. "You might not like that."

"You just might." Tony said, and then looked over at me, staring at a wall expressionlessly. "Hey, Ice Queen. Snap out of Candy Land. I'm going to hit the sack, and I need you to help the good doctor out."

I tore my gaze from the wall and met Tony's eyes. _It hurts, Tony. I can feel what he's feeling, and it hurts me._

I know, sweetheart. I know.

"Yeah, sure. Night, Stark." I said as if nothing happened.

"Goodnight, Princess." He almost looked reluctant to leave. But he did, and left me alone to meet Bruce's worried gaze. Shit.

"Hey, Em. Are you okay?" He asked.

I smiled back. "Yeah, fine. Just thinking."

He wouldn't let me get away that easily. "About what?" He pushed aside the computer and sat down on a stool, motioning for me to join him.

I sat across from him and fidgeted. I wasn't exactly used to this bare-your-feelings crap. "Do you really think so low of yourself, Bruce?"

He stared back at me, confused. "What?"

"You are a hero. I know you are."

He shook his head sadly. "I'm not like the others. They use themselves to make good things happen. I use a monster to make destruction happen."

I gazed back at him, ignoring the horrible physical pains I was getting from his emotional pain. "Listen to me, Bruce Banner. You are_ not_ a monster. You are a hero, and dammit, you will treat yourself as such." I instructed, and he opened his mouth to argue. "I'm not finished. You are so much more than you think you are, and you have to potential to be so much better." I refused to let tears pool up in my eyes. When did I get so damn emotional?

"Em, the only thing special about me is a huge green monster that I fight for control with when I get angry. You tell me that's not horrific."

I shook my head. "You aren't horrific to me."

He let out a half smile. "You're the first to tell me so, so thank you."

"I'm always here for you, Bruce. Remember that, okay?"

"I'll try. When the Other Guy is trying to come out, I'll remember that." Bruce said, and I felt so much better. His pains had stopped, and by extension, mine had stopped; physical and metal.

"The key word there was 'trying'. See, we're making progress!" I said enthusiastically, making him laugh.

"Yeah, I suppose we are." I smiled. Maybe it wasn't such a mistake, getting to know Bruce Banner.

* * *

**AN: A two-in-one chapter to make up for the lack of updates. I'm really sorry for that, you guys. To see the full extent of my apology, check out Ch. 11 of my other story, Accidentally in Love. And read it while you're there maybe? Anyhow. Please review, tell me what you liked, what you didn't, so on and so forth. Thanks for reading. **

**-Les**


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